Interview: Female fire fighter Lucy Masoud

This January it’s Careers month at So So Gay and all month we’re talking to people across many industries to help you find the right career for you, today we speak to 34 year-old London based Fire fighter Lucy Masoud… 

Why did you join the fire service?

I’d always wanted to be a fire fighter. I wanted to do a lot of things when I was younger, but joining the service was something that was always bubbling away.

A few years ago I decided that I wanted to train to become a solicitor and fire fighting was one of the few jobs that would’ve paid me enough to afford to become a solicitor, and give me enough time to study.

How did you go about it?

It was deciding to train as a solicitor that got me thinking about it seriously. I started looking and found out that the application is a long, drawn-up process.

I checked the website every day for about a year looking for vacancies and, eventually, they advertised. Apparently there were 2,000 applications forms to be sent out, and they were taking people’s details and they’d randomly select 2,000 people to send an application form to. I rang up many times. I left countless names at my brother’s and sister’s addresses.

Thankfully I got a form which I sent back and about a month later I was invited to a written test. I passed that and after another couple of months I was invited to a physical, a bleep test. After I passed that there was a second physical and then an interview before I was offered the job, and then I had to wait for a place at the training school to become available. It was about a year from starting the application process to starting my training.

I think it’s a lot harder now, there’s a recruitment freeze on at the moment anyway, but I know of people who joined after me where the process took two or three years. I was lucky that the first time I applied I passed everything. People often fail the application or the interview but I’ve always been quite good at things like that so they were the easiest things for me.

There’s still the idea in some sections of society that fire fighters are often firemen, rather than firewomen, is that the case in the brigade?

That’s more of a perception. The London Fire Brigade have done quite a lot to get more women into the service. There’s about 3,5000 fire fighters in London and when I joined about 200 were women, there are about 290 now, so still a great deal less women than there are men.  I was the only girl at my station for a good two or three years.

How did you find that?

It was a bit daunting, walking into a new station working with ten people who are all men. I think that as long as you walk in the right attitude and make people aware that you’re not going to be pushed around you’ll be ok.

I’ve found that the older fire fighters tend to accept a woman a lot easier because they’ve seen the changes in the fire brigade over the last 20, 30 years and they see that having women in the brigade is an advantage. The younger ones are more likely to have the bravado and say “It’s a man’s job”, but they quickly snap out of that.

But you’ve never experienced any chauvinism?

You’ve got to have a thick skin. That doesn’t mean keeping your head down and letting jokes that offend you go over your head – if you’re offended by something you have to say something – but you do need to have a thick skin and appreciate that there’s a dark fire brigade sense of humour. It’s not sexist, but it can be a dark job – you see a lot of horrible things – and you have to grow a thick skin. Even I come out with things that I know I couldn’t say in a normal desk job.

It’s not a case of acting like one of the guys, but you need to be able to hold your own if someone gives you a bit of banter, and you need to be able to give it back. I’ve always been good at that, so it’s never been a problem with me as far as being a woman.

Chauvinism is rare, the only time I’ve heard it is from new people who might say “It’s easier for a woman or a gay person to get in, they’re not judged by the same standards as us,” which is rubbish I did the same as everyone else. But I think that’s just youth speaking. If you’re a young man coming into the job you want to be one of the elite, and the point of being a fire fighter is that you’re big and strong and brave. I suppose if they see it being infiltrated by women and gay people they somehow, in their head, think it takes something away from them. The way they can excuse this is by saying “It’s easier for women to get in; it’s easier for gay people to get in.” It’s just immaturity and as I say, it’s not a commonly-held belief.

Have you come up against homophobia?

I’m very open. When people meet you they say “Do you have a boyfriend?” I’ll say “No, I have a girlfriend, or I’m gay.” I’ve never had any problems from fire fighters. Most fire fighters are part of the union and the union are very big on equality, they’re very left-minded, very equality-faced. I’ve had one problem and that was soon taken care of.

Is there a visible LBGT presence in the fire service?

I guess there is. We have the LGBT section in the union. When I was at university when I was 18, the first thing I did was join the LBGT group because I didn’t know any other gay people. But I think in London nowadays people are less likely to feel the need to join the LGBT group because they’ve got lots of other things going on in their lives, they don’t feel the need to define themselves.

I know of a handful and most people are quite open, mainly women. I only know about five gay men. I think gay women are a lot more visible in the brigade than gay men.

Is there anything that you think the fire brigade does need to improve on?

They need to protect their union members more. I’m trying to be diplomatic. If a fire fighter acted in a certain way towards me because I was gay they’d probably be suspended and disciplined very harshly, but if that person was a manager who wasn’t in the union, they’re likely to be treated less severely. They’re almost protected a bit more. If there’s any discrimination in the FB I think it’s against people who are in the union.

So what are the best bits about your job?

Every day is different, you never know what to expect. You might get a few quiet days and then there’ll be a fire or a big road crash and you’re there, hands on, making a difference. There are so many occasions when you’re there and you do something, and it might be small, but you can see that that has a triggering effect and it really does make a difference. We had a little girl who had her fingers trapped in the door the other day, and we took them out and gave her a little kiss on the chin and she came out and sat on the fire engine. It’s the little things like that, and occasionally saving lives.

And the worst?

The politics, people fiddling with your contract and changing things. Also, the night shifts can knock your body clock sometimes. I think I’ve aged by ten years since I’ve joined here, because of the night shifts. But it’s mainly the politics

Do you have any advice for anyone thinking of joining the fire service?

Make sure you have a thick skin and a good sense of humour. Don’t think you’re going to be putting out house fires every day, because you won’t be. You need to be flexible.

Featured image: London Fire Brigade by Another Pint Please, Flickr